<v Speaker 1>Wednesday, October 7th, 2026. You are listening to the Daily

<v Speaker 1>Dose Sports Podcast. And I am your host, Clint Daly,

<v Speaker 1>coming to you from the Mahi City here in Denver, Colorado.

<v Speaker 1>And we are back for another week of talking sports

<v Speaker 1>with a dose of common sense. Hey, happy Wednesday to you.

<v Speaker 1>I hope your week is going well. You are now

<v Speaker 1>halfway to another weekend. I hope everyone in your world

<v Speaker 1>is staying strong and healthy right now. Okay, I have

<v Speaker 1>to get something off my chest here. If you've been

<v Speaker 1>listening for any time at all, you know that of

<v Speaker 1>course we talk all things sports here at The Daily Dose.

<v Speaker 1>But you probably also know that we do have a

<v Speaker 1>bit of a Colorado flavor. And I know I seem

<v Speaker 1>to be asking this every single year, but why can't

<v Speaker 1>my home state have college football? The only time the

<v Speaker 1>state of Colorado gets any recognition in college football is

<v Speaker 1>when it's for something really, really stupid. And that is

<v Speaker 1>once again the case this week. First up, Colorado State

<v Speaker 1>was embarrassed on its own turf by Oregon State this

<v Speaker 1>past Saturday on homecoming Saturday, I might add, to the

<v Speaker 1>tune of 56 to 26. But get this. That blowout

<v Speaker 1>loss came just a week after the Rams gave up

<v Speaker 1>59 points to Texas San Antonio in a 59-45 loss

<v Speaker 1>that had head coach Jim Mora arguing on the sideline

<v Speaker 1>with defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. Well, it turns out they're

<v Speaker 1>not going to be arguing anymore because Summers is no

<v Speaker 1>longer with the program. But here's where it gets a

<v Speaker 1>little bit weird. because it is the manner in which

<v Speaker 1>he was dismissed that caused a little bit of some controversy.

<v Speaker 1>On Saturday, during the game, Mora pulled the play-calling duties

<v Speaker 1>away from Summers, and he did it before halftime. Summers

<v Speaker 1>was on the sideline to begin the game. However, when

<v Speaker 1>the Beavers took a 14-0 lead with just over a

<v Speaker 1>minute left in the opening quarter, he disappeared. Now, speaking

<v Speaker 1>with reporters after the game, Jim Moore explained that he

<v Speaker 1>had relieved Summers of his play-calling duties in the first quarter,

<v Speaker 1>and the now former defensive coordinator made the decision on

<v Speaker 1>his own to leave the field. Moore had been confirmed

<v Speaker 1>that Summers would no longer be with the Rams program.

<v Speaker 1>Following his exit, Co-defensive coordinator Kenny McClendon took over defensive

<v Speaker 1>play calling duties, but it didn't really work out that

<v Speaker 1>well for the Rams. The Beavers scored another 21 points

<v Speaker 1>in the second quarter and took a 35-14 lead at

<v Speaker 1>halftime before blowing them out. It was a 30-point win

<v Speaker 1>on the road. Well, the Colorado State Rams are now 2-3.

<v Speaker 1>And remember, Mora is in his first year as head

<v Speaker 1>coach at Colorado State after spending the last four seasons

<v Speaker 1>at the University of Connecticut, where, I might add, he

<v Speaker 1>led the Huskies to back-to-back nine win seasons the past

<v Speaker 1>two years. So Mora seems to have an idea of

<v Speaker 1>what he's doing. Summers, meanwhile, served as the interim head

<v Speaker 1>coach of Colorado State for the final five games last

<v Speaker 1>year after they had fired head coach Jay Norvell. And

<v Speaker 1>then Mora, they said, retained Summers as defensive coordinator, but

<v Speaker 1>I think it's fair to assume he probably wasn't that

<v Speaker 1>comfortable with Summers. He probably wanted to move his own

<v Speaker 1>guy up the ladder, and now he has been able

<v Speaker 1>to do so. Now, like I said, Jim Mora was

<v Speaker 1>able to rebuild Connecticut. So I'm going to give him

<v Speaker 1>a little bit of leeway here. But I do want

<v Speaker 1>to see like some sign of improvement. Oh, but wait,

<v Speaker 1>we aren't done. Not even close. Because get this, a

<v Speaker 1>Texas Tech fan claimed to have found pages from the

<v Speaker 1>University of Colorado's playbook left behind at a bar inside

<v Speaker 1>the hotel where the Buffaloes were reportedly staying after their

<v Speaker 1>home Saturday matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Based

<v Speaker 1>on the photos shared on social media, the evidence looks

<v Speaker 1>pretty incriminating. for that Colorado coaching staff. Now the fans

<v Speaker 1>shared the claims on a Texas Tech message board on

<v Speaker 1>Friday and said, okay, I'm not posting pics of it,

<v Speaker 1>but a bunch of us are in the Colorado team

<v Speaker 1>hotel at the bar and we found a 25 page

<v Speaker 1>or so playbook that I would bet large amounts of

<v Speaker 1>money is in the actual CU playbook. It's got opening plays,

<v Speaker 1>red zone info, and our tendencies. Now there's no evidence.

<v Speaker 1>that anyone on the Texas Tech staff received or even

<v Speaker 1>saw copies of the pages from this alleged playbook. But

<v Speaker 1>the Red Raiders were pretty lights out against the Buffaloes'

<v Speaker 1>offense on Saturday night. Colorado actually did manage to score

<v Speaker 1>on its opening drive of the game, but from then on,

<v Speaker 1>Texas Tech dominated for the rest of the game. The

<v Speaker 1>Buffaloes threw four interceptions in the second half alone, which

<v Speaker 1>helped Tech ultimately cruise to a 29-7 victory, and moved

<v Speaker 1>to 5-0 on the season. Oh, but wait, we're still

<v Speaker 1>not done. In the third quarter of the game, Texas

<v Speaker 1>Tech ran out to try a field goal. But Colorado

<v Speaker 1>had just eight players on the field, so head coach

<v Speaker 1>Deion Sanders had to call timeout to get organized. After regrouping,

<v Speaker 1>the Buffs sent out just nine players for the attempt.

<v Speaker 2>Uh-huh.

<v Speaker 1>Well, not done. In the fourth quarter, with the Buffs

<v Speaker 1>on their own two-yard line, quarterback Isaac Wilson, little brother

<v Speaker 1>of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, you might remember, retreated

<v Speaker 1>into his own end zone and threw a pass that

<v Speaker 1>was intercepted by Tech linebacker John Curry in said end zone.

<v Speaker 1>So the play went down as a touchdown of zero yards.

<v Speaker 1>The Buffs are also now two and three. is killing me.

<v Speaker 1>Why can't my home state of Colorado have nice things

<v Speaker 1>in college football? You know, I remember the days of

<v Speaker 1>McCartney and Lubick and Crowder and Bruce and DeBerry. This

<v Speaker 1>state will support a good program. And yet here we are,

<v Speaker 1>where once again, the Air Force Falcons are the best

<v Speaker 1>college football program in the state. And they aren't even

<v Speaker 1>that good this year. I don't understand. I don't get it,

<v Speaker 1>but I know this. We need to see some changes

<v Speaker 1>for the better real quick because once again, college football

<v Speaker 1>in Colorado is embarrassing.

<v Speaker 2>It is embarrassing!

<v Speaker 1>Hey, today on The Dose, last week we took a

<v Speaker 1>look at some teams in both the NFL and college

<v Speaker 1>football that have been underachieving so far. We examined whether

<v Speaker 1>or not they should hit the panic button. This week,

<v Speaker 1>we're going to look at some other teams that are

<v Speaker 1>actually playing a little better than expected. But are they

<v Speaker 1>pretenders or are they actually contenders? We'll take a look

<v Speaker 1>at that in just a minute. Plus, we saw one

<v Speaker 1>NFL team this past week break a long streak. Wasn't

<v Speaker 1>a good streak. Our Daily Dose Top 5 is going

<v Speaker 1>to look at another five streaks that are still alive.

<v Speaker 1>But today, let's go ahead and jump in with those

<v Speaker 1>Major League Baseball playoffs. We are now in the Divisional

<v Speaker 1>Series and down to the final eight teams remaining. And

<v Speaker 1>you know, we had said going into these playoffs that

<v Speaker 1>we didn't know what the Chicago White Sox would do. Remember,

<v Speaker 1>this team is one year removed from losing 100 games. Yet,

<v Speaker 1>turns out they don't care. They don't seem to have

<v Speaker 1>any idea that they're not really supposed to win. The

<v Speaker 1>White Sox plowed through the Astros in the wildcard round. Thankfully,

<v Speaker 1>we're done with the Astros. And now the White Sox

<v Speaker 1>are up 2-0 on the Cleveland Guardians after two games,

<v Speaker 1>mind you, played in Cleveland. Hey, the White Sox hit

<v Speaker 1>home runs, and we know homers tend to win games

<v Speaker 1>in October. Now, does it help that the American League

<v Speaker 1>isn't great this season? Of course it does. But the

<v Speaker 1>White Sox just keep winning, and they are now one

<v Speaker 1>win away from the American League Championship Series. something they

<v Speaker 1>haven't done in quite some time, staying in that American League.

<v Speaker 1>The Tampa Bay Rays, of course, are the number one

<v Speaker 1>seed in the AL, but we all kind of ignore that, right?

<v Speaker 1>We all kind of looked at this going in and said, hey,

<v Speaker 1>it'll probably be the Yankees, maybe the Guardians. Except the

<v Speaker 1>Yankees have been below average defensively, and the Rays are

<v Speaker 1>now up 2-0 as well. And I know, the popular

<v Speaker 1>take right now is that the Yankees are just kind

<v Speaker 1>of cruising. They're saving Aaron Judge for later rounds. Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>I'm calling BS on that. They need Aaron Judge like yesterday.

<v Speaker 1>The Rays, they just don't make many mistakes. Pitcher Drew

<v Speaker 1>Rasmussen is dominating the left-handed hitters with that nasty changeup.

<v Speaker 1>But again, the Rays play mostly error-free baseball. And then they...

<v Speaker 1>see if you'll screw it up. And right now, the

<v Speaker 1>Yankees keep screwing it up. The Rays are also one

<v Speaker 1>game away from the ALCS. And honestly, they look like

<v Speaker 1>the best team overall in the American League. We'll see

<v Speaker 1>if they can close that out and what they do

<v Speaker 1>in the next round. But let's move over to the

<v Speaker 1>National League, where on Sunday night, the Atlanta Braves went

<v Speaker 1>into Los Angeles and stole Game 2 from the mighty Dodgers.

<v Speaker 1>So they went back to Atlanta, tied 1-1. Last night,

<v Speaker 1>the Dodgers get the win on the road to take

<v Speaker 1>a 2-1 lead, but with the injuries that they are

<v Speaker 1>still dealing with. This all still feels a little precarious,

<v Speaker 1>doesn't it? And you know what else is precarious? The

<v Speaker 1>home crowds the Dodgers are putting out there in Chavez Ravine. Look,

<v Speaker 1>I get it with UCLA and USC, you front-running bandwagoners.

<v Speaker 1>But last I checked, the Dodgers are the back-to-back defending champions.

<v Speaker 1>And they still don't have much of a crowd. I

<v Speaker 1>don't get it. LA fans are absolutely the worst. Show

<v Speaker 1>up on time for once and stay until it's over

<v Speaker 1>for once. It's embarrassing.

<v Speaker 2>It is embarrassing!

<v Speaker 1>In that final series, I have one question. Should we

<v Speaker 1>keep doubting the Milwaukee Brewers? Because I keep doubting them.

<v Speaker 1>I know what they do in the regular season. It

<v Speaker 1>seems like every single year. But then we get to

<v Speaker 1>the postseason and they do absolutely nothing. Well, right now

<v Speaker 1>they just keep on winning. And Brewers left fielder Jackson

<v Speaker 1>Turrio just keeps coming up with clutch plays. He has

<v Speaker 1>so much confidence at the plate. And you know what

<v Speaker 1>separates him from everyone else? He doesn't care how his

<v Speaker 1>last at-bat was. It doesn't matter to him. He is

<v Speaker 1>going to the plate to mash, and that's just how

<v Speaker 1>it's going to be. The Padres managed to survive last night.

<v Speaker 1>They're still in it at 2-1. They stay alive, but

<v Speaker 1>they are still on the brink of elimination. We'll see

<v Speaker 1>if they can win one more and make this interesting.

<v Speaker 1>And you know, it's got to be rough for the Padres.

<v Speaker 1>Because I know Padre fans were thinking, okay, this is

<v Speaker 1>finally our year. The Dodgers are a little banged up.

<v Speaker 1>We are warming up at the right time. This is

<v Speaker 1>all lining up for us. Oh, no, it isn't. Once again,

<v Speaker 1>it is a good thing San Diego is so beautiful

<v Speaker 1>because your sports scene is just a factory of sadness.

<v Speaker 1>So we are now a full month into the 2026

<v Speaker 1>NFL regular season, and we are already nearly a quarter

<v Speaker 1>of the way through the regular season. I know, it's depressing.

<v Speaker 1>But you know, we have a few teams that are

<v Speaker 1>actually playing better than expected. We have some teams that

<v Speaker 1>we expected to be terrible, and they've actually won a

<v Speaker 1>few games. So is this just like early season weirdness?

<v Speaker 1>Or are these teams actually contenders? Or are they just pretenders?

<v Speaker 1>Let's take a look at a few teams right now.

<v Speaker 1>And where else could we start but with the Cleveland Browns?

<v Speaker 1>After trading away pass rusher Miles Garrett in the offseason,

<v Speaker 1>and then of course that whole Deshaun Watson fiasco, we

<v Speaker 1>all expected the Browns to tank for a new quarterback

<v Speaker 1>in this next year's draft. Well, who saw them being

<v Speaker 1>3-1 right now and tied for the lead of the

<v Speaker 1>AFC North? Not me, and not many others either. But

<v Speaker 1>here we are. Defense has been solid, and Deshaun Watson

<v Speaker 1>seems to have kind of found his old pre-massage table magic.

<v Speaker 1>So are the Browns truly a contender, or are they

<v Speaker 1>just pretending? Well, I've got to look at who they played.

<v Speaker 1>They lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but that doesn't look

<v Speaker 1>like too bad of a loss. They beat the Tampa

<v Speaker 1>Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carolina's okay.

<v Speaker 1>But it kind of feels like the C- kid in

<v Speaker 1>the dumb kid spelling bee. Like, good job. You spelled

<v Speaker 1>like fence, correct? I mean, you're not all that smart,

<v Speaker 1>but by comparison, you look really smart. So I don't

<v Speaker 1>know that the Browns are truly a contender. I do

<v Speaker 1>like that defense, though. And I really like that secondary.

<v Speaker 1>It's young and talented. But no, I don't think the

<v Speaker 1>Browns are truly a contender. I would imagine that as

<v Speaker 1>they start playing better defenses... Deshaun starts to look more

<v Speaker 1>like a guy that would rather be on the massage table.

<v Speaker 1>I think the Browns are going to come back down

<v Speaker 1>to earth a little bit. You know, most experts predicted

<v Speaker 1>the AFC West to be a three-team race, but who

<v Speaker 1>expected the Las Vegas Raiders to be one of the three?

<v Speaker 1>But here are the Raiders also at three and one,

<v Speaker 1>and the one loss was a one-score loss to the

<v Speaker 1>division-leading Kansas City Chiefs. No, the Raiders haven't exactly beaten

<v Speaker 1>any big dogs. They've beaten the Dolphins, the Chargers, and

<v Speaker 1>the Saints. It's not impressive, but that game on Sunday

<v Speaker 1>against the Chiefs? No, that showed me something. Sure, I know.

<v Speaker 1>It was the Raiders' Super Bowl, and every year it

<v Speaker 1>seems like they have one weird Super Bowl game that

<v Speaker 1>they play their guts out, and they con Raider Nation

<v Speaker 1>into thinking they're better than they actually are. But I mean,

<v Speaker 1>Kirk Cousins is playing well. He's got a number of

<v Speaker 1>weapons on the offensive side of the ball, but do

<v Speaker 1>I worry that that defense is eventually going to wear

<v Speaker 1>down and start giving up some big, big games, especially

<v Speaker 1>in that secondary? Yeah, I do. I won't say the

<v Speaker 1>Raiders are a true contender for a title, but they

<v Speaker 1>are way better than expected and they just might push

<v Speaker 1>for a playoff spot. Okay, so I actually picked the

<v Speaker 1>New York Giants to contend for a playoff spot, but

<v Speaker 1>when starting quarterback Jackson Dart went down with that knee

<v Speaker 1>injury that ended his season, I gave up hope. But

<v Speaker 1>on came Jameis Winston, and the Giants have now won

<v Speaker 1>two games in a row. They sit on top of

<v Speaker 1>the NFC East with a 3-1 record. And Jameis, well,

<v Speaker 1>I mean, he's being Jameis. He's thrown three touchdowns. And yes,

<v Speaker 1>you guessed right, three interceptions as well. And every week,

<v Speaker 1>his press conferences are the most unintentionally funny interviews since

<v Speaker 1>Joe Biden was in office. But again, wins over the Cowboys, Titans,

<v Speaker 1>and Cardinals aren't that convincing. And what's worse is the

<v Speaker 1>Giants have barely won all three of those games. You know,

<v Speaker 1>the Giant point differential is nearly even. That tells me

<v Speaker 1>when the competition ramps up, the wins are probably going

<v Speaker 1>to go down. I think the Eagles and the Cowboys

<v Speaker 1>are probably going to start winning games eventually. Yeah, I'm

<v Speaker 1>not buying in long-term on the Giants, not with their

<v Speaker 1>current quarterback situation. You know, there are now just three

<v Speaker 1>undefeated teams left in the NFL, and who among us

<v Speaker 1>have the Minnesota Vikings being one of them? Yeah, I

<v Speaker 1>guarantee not even a Viking faithful had that. The Vikings

<v Speaker 1>have already beaten both the Bears and the Packers in

<v Speaker 1>their division, and that puts them a leg up on

<v Speaker 1>everyone else. But their other two wins were against the

<v Speaker 1>Buccaneers and the Dolphins. Okay, but what do we notice

<v Speaker 1>about those four teams? Well, with the exception of the Bears,

<v Speaker 1>none of them could score points. And the week that

<v Speaker 1>Minnesota played the Bears, that was the same week Caleb

<v Speaker 1>Williams left with an injury. So the Vikings are indeed 4-0.

<v Speaker 1>But can their offense really keep this up? Lil' Kyler

<v Speaker 1>Murray has a single touchdown. Hey, I like the Vikings

<v Speaker 1>as a division contender because the rest of the NFC

<v Speaker 1>North is struggling right now, but I don't like the

<v Speaker 1>Vikings' odds of being a true title contender. I like

<v Speaker 1>their defense a lot so far, but they haven't faced

<v Speaker 1>any offenses. So I don't know how good they really are.

<v Speaker 1>But that's going to change. And when it does, Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>I could see the Vikings crash back down to earth.

<v Speaker 1>We finish up with another one of the final undefeated teams,

<v Speaker 1>and that is the San Francisco 49ers. Hey, with all

<v Speaker 1>the injuries this team has faced, and then, of course,

<v Speaker 1>the car crash that head coach Kyle Shanahan was in

<v Speaker 1>prior to the season, I think we all thought the

<v Speaker 1>Niners might be doomed for like a bottom-out kind of season.

<v Speaker 1>That hasn't been the case at all. Quarterback Brock Purdy

<v Speaker 1>is playing really well. Running back Christian McCaffrey has not

<v Speaker 1>been great, but he's been productive. And the Niners are

<v Speaker 1>getting production from aging receivers like Mike Evans and Debo

<v Speaker 1>Samuel and even George Kittle. So are the Niners actually

<v Speaker 1>a contender? Yeah, because that defense is playing so well.

<v Speaker 1>And the production they're getting on offense, yeah, I can

<v Speaker 1>see them being a contender, no doubt about it. My

<v Speaker 1>only question is the biggest question we've had for San

<v Speaker 1>Francisco the past few years. Can they stay healthy? We'll see.

<v Speaker 1>So we are now more than a month into the

<v Speaker 1>2026 college football season, and we also have a few

<v Speaker 1>teams that are overachieving as well. And it might be

<v Speaker 1>tough to tell, but are any of these teams actually

<v Speaker 1>a bona fide contender? Could any of them make some

<v Speaker 1>noise in the national picture? Let's see. You know, it

<v Speaker 1>might sound crazy, but the Pitt Panthers are actually 5-0

<v Speaker 1>and found themselves ranked number 25 after they squeaked out

<v Speaker 1>a road win last week at Virginia Tech. Could Pitt

<v Speaker 1>actually do something big this year? I'm not fully sold.

<v Speaker 1>For one, their win over Virginia Tech was sketchy at best.

<v Speaker 1>That field goal by Tech was ruled no good. I've

<v Speaker 1>watched it a few times. I'm still not sure. At

<v Speaker 1>certain angles, it looked good. At other angles, it didn't

<v Speaker 1>look good. Brief side note, how hard would it be

<v Speaker 1>to have a laser shooting straight up out of the

<v Speaker 1>goalpost so we know if a kick is good or not?

<v Speaker 1>I mean, that doesn't seem like rocket science, does it?

<v Speaker 2>Back in the 60s, I developed a weather-changing machine, which

<v Speaker 2>was in essence a sophisticated heat beam, which we called

<v Speaker 2>a laser.

<v Speaker 1>Seems like we could do that at both the NFL

<v Speaker 1>and college level. But I digress. The Panthers have now

<v Speaker 1>beaten Miami, Ohio, Central Florida, Syracuse, Bucknell, and Virginia Tech. Yeah,

<v Speaker 1>not exactly murderer's row. Then again, the schedule isn't going

<v Speaker 1>to get that much tougher. Hey, the ACC is very soft.

<v Speaker 1>Very top heavy. And aside from a visit to Miami

<v Speaker 1>late in October, the schedule isn't going to ramp up

<v Speaker 1>that much. I mean, like North Carolina and Louisville are

<v Speaker 1>the only other tests. So is Pitt real? No. But

<v Speaker 1>their schedule is going to allow them to get to

<v Speaker 1>a bowl game. Then they'll probably lose. But you know,

<v Speaker 1>Pitt isn't the only ACC team with a surprising record.

<v Speaker 1>Did you know that Duke Blue Devils are also 4-0?

<v Speaker 1>And yeah, big surprise. They've also played a very soft schedule. Tulane, Stanford, Illinois,

<v Speaker 1>and Bill and Mary aren't exactly knocking anyone dead. And

<v Speaker 1>this schedule might be even worse than Pitt. They do

<v Speaker 1>go to Miami and then they host Clemson. See, this

<v Speaker 1>is why conferences like the Big Ten and the SEC

<v Speaker 1>gripe so much. I'm not saying I fully agree with

<v Speaker 1>them all the time. But I get it, because no

<v Speaker 1>one in either the Big Ten or the SEC gets

<v Speaker 1>to duck pretty much everyone. It happens in the other conferences, though.

<v Speaker 1>So again, yeah, I see Duke coasting to like a

<v Speaker 1>blowout loss in a crappy bowl game. I guess that's something.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know.

<v Speaker 2>Enjoy.

<v Speaker 1>We move to the Big Ten, where there is a

<v Speaker 1>team that is starting to get my attention. And I'm

<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out what to make of them. And

<v Speaker 1>that is the 5-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Hey, there's nothing new

<v Speaker 1>in Lincoln about a soft schedule. And the Huskers have

<v Speaker 1>definitely stacked up some easy early wins against the likes

<v Speaker 1>of Ohio University, Bowling Green, North Dakota, Michigan State, and Maryland.

<v Speaker 1>But to be honest, there are some aspects to this

<v Speaker 1>Nebraska team I kind of like. Sure, they haven't faced

<v Speaker 1>a defense even in the top 50 yet, but they

<v Speaker 1>are averaging a whopping eight yards a pass. Hey, they're

<v Speaker 1>putting up some numbers. Is Nebraska real, though? I'm not

<v Speaker 1>completely sold. But I will say this. Unlike those teams

<v Speaker 1>in the ACC, oh no, we're about to find out.

<v Speaker 1>Get this. Their next three opponents are Indiana, Oregon, and Washington.

<v Speaker 1>And then their final two games of the regular season

<v Speaker 1>are Ohio State and Iowa. Now, I do think Nebraska

<v Speaker 1>is better than they have been in a number of years.

<v Speaker 1>I also think this 5-0 start could soon be a

<v Speaker 1>very distant memory. We move next to the newly formatted

<v Speaker 1>Mountain West that has a newly added team on top

<v Speaker 1>of their rankings, and that is the now 5-0 North

<v Speaker 1>Dakota State Bison. Not only are the Bison on top

<v Speaker 1>of this conference right now, but remember, this is their

<v Speaker 1>first year at the FBS level. It doesn't seem to

<v Speaker 1>be phasing them that much. The defense is allowing less

<v Speaker 1>than 10 points a game. Again, yes, against a really

<v Speaker 1>soft schedule. Jacksonville State, Fordham, Air Force, that's a solid win,

<v Speaker 1>Sacramento State, and Wyoming. But the toughest games left on

<v Speaker 1>their schedule will be New Mexico, UNLV, and at San

<v Speaker 1>Jose State. Hey, there's no way North Dakota State could

<v Speaker 1>get ranked, right? And there's really no way they could

<v Speaker 1>end up being, I don't know, like a group of

<v Speaker 1>five playoff team, right? I don't know. It sounds crazy,

<v Speaker 1>but they could. We finish up our look at college

<v Speaker 1>football teams performing better than expected, and we now go

<v Speaker 1>to the Sunbelt Conference, where the James Madison Dukes are

<v Speaker 1>also sitting at 5-0 and also playing a very soft schedule,

<v Speaker 1>but they are winning, and they are winning big. So far,

<v Speaker 1>against the garbage competition of Liberty, Wagner, San Diego State,

<v Speaker 1>Old Dominion, and Marshall... The Dukes are winning each game

<v Speaker 1>by an average of 45 to 13. Well, they're not

<v Speaker 1>going to get many tests. Their only tests left are

<v Speaker 1>Georgia State and Appalachian State. So they do have a

<v Speaker 1>shot of going undefeated. And if they do, they just

<v Speaker 1>might be, again, one of those group of five teams

<v Speaker 1>that would be in the running for a college football

<v Speaker 1>playoff berth. Would this surprise most people?

<v Speaker 2>Sure.

<v Speaker 1>But remember, Big Rob called this back in August, so

<v Speaker 1>we knew it could happen. Hey, another interesting week is

<v Speaker 1>coming this week in college football.

<v Speaker 2>No.

<v Speaker 1>7 Indiana goes to Nebraska.

<v Speaker 2>No.

<v Speaker 1>21 UCLA goes to No. 13 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia.

<v Speaker 1>goes to number six, Alabama. Hey, we're going to start

<v Speaker 1>separating the pretenders from the contenders every single week from

<v Speaker 1>here on out. Now, as we do so many weeks

<v Speaker 1>here at The Daily Dose, we need to get over

<v Speaker 1>to our Daily Dose top five. This past weekend, the

<v Speaker 1>New York Jets snapped one of the crazier droughts in

<v Speaker 1>NFL history. as they intercepted a pass for the first

<v Speaker 1>time in 21 games during their 23-12 loss to the

<v Speaker 1>Chicago Bears. The Jets converted the takeaway into a field goal,

<v Speaker 1>although they would go on to lose. But hey, the

<v Speaker 1>Jets had gone 643 pass attempts and 638 days without

<v Speaker 1>a single pick. Before Sunday, their last interception came back

<v Speaker 1>on January 5th, 2025, the final game, actually, of the

<v Speaker 1>2024 regular season. They went all last season without a pick. Well,

<v Speaker 1>did you know that there are actually a few other

<v Speaker 1>droughts that are still currently taking place in the NFL? Today,

<v Speaker 1>our Daily Dose Top 5 is counting down five other

<v Speaker 1>current droughts taking place right now in the National Football League.

<v Speaker 1>We jump in at number five. And did you know

<v Speaker 1>that there is currently a drought that goes all the

<v Speaker 1>way back to 2009? As seems to be the usual,

<v Speaker 1>the Cleveland Browns finished their 2009 season with a 5-11 record.

<v Speaker 1>No big surprise. But it was in week 15 on

<v Speaker 1>December 20th that the Browns went to Arrowhead Stadium and

<v Speaker 1>played the Kansas City Chiefs. And late in the first quarter,

<v Speaker 1>the Chiefs kicked a field goal. And on that ensuing kickoff,

<v Speaker 1>They kicked off to wide receiver Josh Cribs, who took

<v Speaker 1>the kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown. Here's what's

<v Speaker 1>actually crazy. Cribs actually took three kickoffs for touchdowns that season.

<v Speaker 1>But that kickoff against the Chiefs in 2009, that was

<v Speaker 1>the last time the Browns returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Kids,

<v Speaker 1>that was what, 16, 17 years ago? Running back Raheem

<v Speaker 1>Sanders has been dangerous this season. He's averaging 29 yards

<v Speaker 1>per return. But is there any chance the Browns could

<v Speaker 1>break that drought this year? I mean, they're hoping so.

<v Speaker 1>The Cleveland Browns kickoff return team comes in today at

<v Speaker 1>number five. We jump to number four, and we're going

<v Speaker 1>to stay in the special teams realm, and we get

<v Speaker 1>to another streak that isn't quite as long. But did

<v Speaker 1>you know that the Green Bay Packers now hold the

<v Speaker 1>current longest active NFL punt return for a touchdown drought?

<v Speaker 1>The Packers haven't returned a punt for a touchdown since

<v Speaker 1>December 28, 2014, when Micah Hyde took a punt 55

<v Speaker 1>yards to the end zone against the Detroit Lions. The

<v Speaker 1>return actually helped the Packers to a 30-20 win, and

<v Speaker 1>they ended up going 12-4 and going to the playoffs.

<v Speaker 1>The Packers then beat the Dallas Cowboys in the infamous

<v Speaker 1>Dez Bryant catch or no catch game. But that season

<v Speaker 1>was the last time the Packers have returned a punt

<v Speaker 1>for a touchdown. Seems crazy with some of the talent

<v Speaker 1>they've had. But the Packers have now gone, what, 12

<v Speaker 1>years without a punt return for a touchdown? They come

<v Speaker 1>in at number four. So we land at number three.

<v Speaker 1>And we mentioned that the New York Jets broke their

<v Speaker 1>interception drought on Sunday after 21 games without an interception. Okay,

<v Speaker 1>so who took the title? Who currently has the longest

<v Speaker 1>interception drought? Well, it's actually only at seven games. But

<v Speaker 1>if you were to guess what team it might be,

<v Speaker 1>who would you think of? You'd probably think of a

<v Speaker 1>team maybe that has struggled defensively. Yeah, you actually might

<v Speaker 1>have guessed it. The Dallas Cowboys now have the longest

<v Speaker 1>drought of having an interception, but like I said, it's

<v Speaker 1>only at seven games. It was last December 14th that

<v Speaker 1>the Cowboys were playing the Minnesota Vikings, but it was

<v Speaker 1>actually a defensive tackle. Quinn and Williams picked off J.J.

<v Speaker 1>McCarthy in the first quarter. The Cowboys would go on

<v Speaker 1>to lose. They finished the season 7-9-1, but that was

<v Speaker 1>the last time the Cowboys intercepted a pass. Not a

<v Speaker 1>long streak. The seven games without an interception, that lands

<v Speaker 1>the Cowboys today at number three. We've reached number two

<v Speaker 1>on our list of NFL droughts, and we arrive at

<v Speaker 1>an absolute monster because this drought is over 100 years old.

<v Speaker 1>Did you realize that the Chicago Bears currently hold the

<v Speaker 1>absolute longest drought in NFL history as they are the

<v Speaker 1>only franchise to never have a 4,000-yard passer in a

<v Speaker 1>single season? Their franchise-wide drought has now extended to 106 yards. seasons. Now,

<v Speaker 1>rookie Caleb Williams came really close to breaking the curse

<v Speaker 1>last year. He finished with a franchise record of 3,942

<v Speaker 1>passing yards, just 58 yards away, but he didn't make it.

<v Speaker 1>Eric Kramer threw for 3,800 yards back in 1995. Jay

<v Speaker 1>Cutler passed for more than 3,200 yards a few different times.

<v Speaker 1>The only time a man is allowed to think about

<v Speaker 1>another man is when that man is Jay Cutler. I

<v Speaker 1>don't know who Jay Cutler is.

<v Speaker 2>Why are you saying.

<v Speaker 1>Cutler like that? Will it happen this year? It doesn't

<v Speaker 1>look good. Because remember, Caleb Williams is out with that

<v Speaker 1>hamstring strain that landed him in the ICU. So he's

<v Speaker 1>going to really have to rally when he comes back.

<v Speaker 1>The Chicago Bears have never had a 4,000-yard passer in

<v Speaker 1>their history. And that lands them today on our list

<v Speaker 1>at number two. So we reach the number one entry

<v Speaker 1>on our list of current NFL droughts, and we get

<v Speaker 1>to one that isn't as long as the Bears. Oh,

<v Speaker 1>but I would bet to their fans it feels even longer.

<v Speaker 1>Because do you realize that while the New York Jets

<v Speaker 1>may have finally intercepted a pass on Sunday, they still

<v Speaker 1>hold the longest active NFL playoff drought at 15 straight seasons,

<v Speaker 1>having last made the postseason in 2010. Now, looking back

<v Speaker 1>at 2010, head coach Rex Ryan was leading a Jets

<v Speaker 1>team that had Mark Sanchez at quarterback, LaDainian Tomlinson at

<v Speaker 1>running back, and an 11-5 record. They beat the Indianapolis

<v Speaker 1>Colts in the wildcard round. They beat the New England

<v Speaker 1>Patriots in the divisional round before losing a tight game

<v Speaker 1>to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that was the last time

<v Speaker 1>the Jets had been in the postseason. And to be honest...

<v Speaker 1>They haven't been all that close. They've had exactly one

<v Speaker 1>winning season since 2010, but they failed to qualify for

<v Speaker 1>the playoffs when they did. Hey, the Jets ended one

<v Speaker 1>drought on Sunday. We'll see if they can end a

<v Speaker 1>bigger one later this year or if they've got to

<v Speaker 1>wait even longer. Hey, next week on The Dose, you know,

<v Speaker 1>we just might have to take an early look at

<v Speaker 1>some of the top players in both college football and

<v Speaker 1>the NFL. Plus, those Major League Baseball playoffs are heating

<v Speaker 1>up and don't look now. But the NHL and NBA

<v Speaker 1>are both eating ready to get started up. So be

<v Speaker 1>sure you tune into The Dose and be sure you

<v Speaker 1>let a friend know to do the same. Hey, I

<v Speaker 1>want to say thank you to each and every one

<v Speaker 1>of you for listening to The Daily Dose every week.

<v Speaker 1>Thank you for the emails. Thank you for the texts.

<v Speaker 1>Thank you for the tweets. But more than anything, thank

<v Speaker 1>you for sharing the shows and for sharing the videos

<v Speaker 1>with someone that you know. We absolutely love it when

<v Speaker 1>you do that. Have to say thank you to Jess P.

<v Speaker 1>Could not do any of this without you. I will

<v Speaker 1>see you all next Wednesday. Have a great week, everybody.

<v Speaker 2>Back in the 60s, I developed a weather-changing machine, which

<v Speaker 2>was in essence a sophisticated heat beam which we called

<v Speaker 2>a laser.